First American Trust FSB Sells 8,387 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

First American Trust FSB lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 73.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,961 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 8,387 shares during the quarter. First American Trust FSB’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,378,000 after buying an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,983,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $5,030,000. Advisory Resource Group purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $1,286,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 41.8% in the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 23,569 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,231,000 after purchasing an additional 6,942 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $481.01 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $463.76 and its 200 day moving average is $429.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.38 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $930,529.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,914 shares in the company, valued at $5,945,993.02. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 1,751 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $806,212.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,150,639.78. This trade represents a 7.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 100,852 shares of company stock worth $45,787,299 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $540.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $577.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $591.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.00.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.